Further Reflections on Assignment 4

Feedback from Peer led Hangout Group and 'Crit' Session at Brighton Study Weekend.

I have shared the work from my last BOW blog post (link here)  with both my Hangout group and fellow students and tutors at the Brighton Study Weekend.  The main points are noted below:-

• The Hangout Group felt that they enjoyed looking at the images and that the idea was compelling and the images evocative.
• It was felt that the final image was structurally different and acted as a punctuation point.  It was good to place it last as it acted as a reflection back into the other images.
• The image with the gate could also be used as a punctuation point.
• It was suggested that I think about how the images affect the narrative (see point made by Clive at Brighton below).
• The less definite paths worked particularly well.
• The images were technically good.
• Although there are no people in the images, there is evidence of humanity.
• One member of the group felt anchored on the path, more so when they led from the middle of the image.
• The ones without tyre marks were possibly more meditative.
• The images reminded one member of the group of the Buddhist cycle of life.
• It was felt that the images invited the viewer to walk into them and along the path.
• There is potential for the viewer to get a great deal out of them.
• Both the Hangout Group and the Brighton group felt that the square format works for uniformity of format (a general point stressed by Clive at Brighton) and distances the work from the picturesque.
• The lack of a horizon reduces the ability to resolve the images in the frame and the viewer needs to enter into a dialogue with the image; they question the viewer.
• It was felt by both the Hangout group and the Brighton group that a couple of the images were taken in sunny conditions rather than the more muted light of the others.
• It was suggested by Clive that I should find ways to pair/group the images to help the narrative and the way they are viewed.
• Both the Hangout Group and the Brighton group felt that the text was still too long and gave too much information.  Clive felt that I needed to remove the more romantic references.
• The general feeling was that only a hint should be given towards folk tales and remove more explicit references.

I was delighted with this feedback and found it both positive and that it gave pointers for further improvement.  On reflection I have further edited the text which I include below, removed the two 'sunnier' images and, having looked for ways of pairing/grouping the images, reordered them.

Walking in Woods

Walking allows me to slow down and fully experience and appreciate the landscape through which I travel.  When walking in woodland, it is easy to lose and find oneself again, to reflect, meditate and to reconnect with the world.  Footpaths disappearing into the distance are seductive, often occurring in literature and fairy tales.  Woods can be places of mystery where the characters become lost and then find their way again.  In woodland, paths often wind and twist and seem to have no purpose except to be followed.  The horizon is limited and paths often disappear round a corner or into a hole in the vegetation leaving the walker to speculate on where they might lead or who they might meet.